Day one is over and it looks like our speakers had a lot of wisdom. Thank you for sharing!

“The more I am vulnerable and human, the more “human” I get back.” @corymiller303 truly impressed me today. #wcus

— Joost de Valk (@jdevalk) December 2, 2016

Diversity does not equal inclusion. You can be in the room without being at the table. –@MarcPhilly #wcus

— Lisa Yoder (@_lisli) December 2, 2016

“Stop stressing. Press publish.” Says @chrislema in Finding your voice by blogging #wcus

— WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) December 2, 2016

“Research proves diverse teams yield better results.” –@MarcPhilly #WCUS pic.twitter.com/nolBIchKdM

— WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) December 2, 2016

“Always comment on the code not the person. It’s about learning from each other in code review.” @ryanmarkel #wcus

— WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) December 2, 2016

And don’t forget about our favorite little wapuu!

#DontStress… Cuddle this guy! #wcus2016 #wordcampus

A photo posted by Kari De Leon (@kdeleon0811) on Dec 2, 2016 at 8:11am PST

After months of preparation, WordCamp US kicks off this Friday! Below you will find all of the information you’ll need to make the most of your time with us at WCUS! (Be sure to let us know if you’ve got any questions or think we left anything out!)

Early Registration

If you’re arriving a bit early, you can pick up your WordCamp US badge in the lobby of the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown on Thursday, December 1 from 2:00-4:00 pm. Early Registration will not include badges for special registration. Speakers and volunteers will receive badges Thursday evening and sponsors will receive theirs at booth setup.

Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown
201 North 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: +1-215-448-2000

Friday and Saturday

The first two days of WordCamp US – December 2 and 3 – take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. If you’re staying at the Sheraton, then it’s a short walk – a great way to start your day!

Pennsylvania Convention Center (map)
Broad Street Atrium Entrance
Broad and Cherry Streets

Friday and Saturday will be filled from beginning to end with inspirational and fresh presentations! And lunch. We definitely have breaks for lunch. Save a PDF of the schedule on your phone now to avoid any possible signal or WiFi issues once you arrive.

Doors open for attendees at 8:00 am on both days.

Opening remarks kick off promptly at 9:00 am on Friday in the upstairs ballroom, followed by sessions in Kite & Key (Room 119), Liberty Bell (Room 120), and Independence (Room 121) on the first floor. Sessions begin Saturday morning at 9:30 am and the event concludes Saturday afternoon upstairs with Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word. Lunch will be served upstairs both days.

Bonus: Come early for Yoga for Desk Jockeys in the Kite & Key room (#119) at 8:15 am on Friday and Saturday!

WiFi

Get online: The network name (SSID) is WordCampUS and the password is opensource

Getting There

On foot: If you’re staying at Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown, the Pennsylvania Convention Center is a short walk away: https://goo.gl/maps/mPTkLQq7xx12

Via subway: Whether you’re on the Blue Line (Market-Frankford) or the Orange Line (Broad Street), get off at the City Hall station.

Taxis and ride services: Philly has plenty of Taxis and there’s Uber and Lyft if you want to request a ride from your phone. When requesting a ride, enter the cross streets (Broad & Cherry) to make sure you’re dropped off near the Broad Street Atrium Entrance.

By car: If you’re driving to WordCamp US you can find directions and parking info here:

https://www.paconvention.com/attendees/travel-to-pa-convention-center/parking

We recommend the Convention Center Parking Co. at 142 N. Broad.

After-Party – Saturday, 12/3

The official WordCamp US After-Party will be Saturday evening after the conference at The Academy of Natural Sciences from 8:00 to 11:00pm. We’ll have the whole place to ourselves, so you can check out the exhibits, meet some live animals, hang in the Butterfly Room, show off your singing skills at karaoke, or find a nice quiet spot in the library, if you prefer. Light appetizers and dessert, plus beer, wine, and cider will be provided.

A WordCamp US badge is required for entry into the after-party, so be sure to get a badge for the friend you’d like to bring along!

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway (map)
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Contributor Day – Sunday, 12/4

For Contributor Day, the last day of WordCamp US, we’re back at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Doors open at 9:00 am, opening remarks are at 10:00, am and the event goes through 5:00 pm. Offsite lunch will be provided.

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram as WordCampUS, and like us on Facebook, to see all of the latest updates as they happen. Use #WCUS on social media to connect with us and your fellow attendees. For questions during the event, find a volunteer or reach out via Twitter anytime.

We hope you’re as excited to attend as we are to have you here!

Inclusion and accessibility is a priority in The WordPress Community. For WordCamp US, we made a commitment to make the event as accessible as possible so that WordCamps continue to be an example for open source and technology conferences the world over.

Once again WordCamp US is pleased to share that we will be fully accessible to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing members of our community via Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) live captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters. Captions will be projected to the main screen in every presentation room and ASL interpreters will be provided on request. The Livestream will also have captions available. Thank you to the Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre and White Coat Captioning for helping us implement these services

This year we will also have nursing pods available. For mothers who would prefer to nurse privately, the pods are a clean, comfortable alternative to using public restrooms or office space. Any volunteer will have more information, or ask at the registration desk!

WordCamp US will also include non-gendered restrooms as well as traditional Women’s and Men’s restrooms. We don’t assume you know best about our bodies, so we won’t assume we know best about yours.

Even though we work tirelessly to make these events as inclusive as possible, we know that sometimes things are missed. We encourage the “See something, Say something” mentality for all WordCampers — if you see something that isn’t right, let us know. If you’re not sure whether something should be mentioned or not, refer to our Code of Conduct.

Want to be part of the change in technology inclusion with WordCamps? There is still time to get your ticket!

We asked some seasoned pros among the attendees for their top tips for the new WordPressers who we’ll welcome to WCUS this year. They did not disappoint. Their advice follows:

Get the most out of the WCUS tracks

• Attend the sessions by speakers who you’d like to ask questions. Catch the rest on WordPress.tv later.
• Plan for some time in the Hallway Track. There will be many fantastic people to chat with in the halls! (The Hallway Track is the name given to the informal conversations that take place outside of the sessions themselves. The chats about WordPress code, content strategies, and more, often between people who have just met each other.)
• Bring an extra bag to put your swag in. You won’t want to ditch a session just to find somewhere to stash it.
• Prepare a question for the Q&A section of Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word.
• Avoid distractions on your devices. Take notes with paper and pen.

Be ready to socialize

• Talk to everyone!
• Make an effort to meet new people. (Bring business cards!)
• Schedule time in advance to chat with folks you’ve been wanting to meet in person.
• Make it a point to sit with people you don’t know at lunch.
• Go to the after-party! Even if you prefer quieter places, there will be a place for you.

Take Care of Yourself

• Dress in layers. There will be (unattended) coat racks.
• Introverts: plan some quiet time into your schedule. (We have a spot for that!)
• Bring vitamin C. And wash your hands!
• Go running (or insert your preferred method of exercise here) each day before WordCamp.
• Attend the official Yoga for Desk Jockeys session to start your day.

Enjoy your time in Philly

• Visit different parts of Philly if you can. (Keep an eye out for our guides on what to eat & where to go!)
• Don’t drive if you don’t have to! Try SEPTA, bicycles, or walking.
• Stay nearby! The official hotel is very close.
• Charge your devices before you arrive so you don’t end up wandering around looking for an outlet.
• Bring an external battery pack to recharge during the day. If you like to live tweet sessions (which we encourage and appreciate!) your phone is going to need a boost.

Top Tip

Believe you belong. You do.

Big thanks to everyone who shared their top tips when we asked on Twitter and Facebook!

Amy Letson, Doug Stewart, Joe Casabona, John Parkinson, Katie Thompson, Lauren Pittenger,
Liam Dempsey, Lisa B. Snyder, Luke Pettway, Matt Cromwell, Morgan Estes, Morten Rand-Hendriksen,
Roberto Remedios, Russ Sanderlin, Sal Ferrarello, Susan Walker, Tara Claeys

Heading to WordCamp US in Philly next week and want to join in on the social media conversation? Check out the #wcus hashtag on Facebook and Twitter. Haven’t signed up yet, but a friend convinced you to go? There’s still time to grab a ticket!

WordCamp US is North America’s largest WordCamp, with a few thousand WordPressers getting together for two session-packed days, a Contributor Day, an epic after-party, lunch each day, and exclusive swag, yet tickets are only $40. It’s important to us that people who want to attend are able to, and we’d hate for ticket cost to be what stops someone from joining us at WCUS.

How do we cover the costs for WCUS?

While each $40 ticket contributes to the budget, it doesn’t cover the food, the swag, or all of the other things that go into putting on a WordCamp of this size, and we have to make up the difference somehow.

First, we have amazing, generous sponsors who support WCUS. It wouldn’t happen without them, and we’re very grateful. While you’re at WordCamp US, we hope you’ll swing by their tables to check out what they have to offer and let them know we all appreciate their support.

Another way WCUS keeps costs down is through the vital support we get from our volunteers. This year there will be over 200 people donating their time – helping with registration, taking photos, assisting attendees, working at the Happiness Bar, and dozens of other tasks – to help make it a great event. The volunteers do critical work and they’re necessary for any WordCamp, especially one as big as WordCamp US!

On top of that, there are many people behind-the-scenes working hard on the planning, organizing, and communications needed to make WordCamp US a wonderful experience for everyone. The organizing team, contributors in the WordPress community around the country, and people from WordPress Community Support work together, starting several months ahead, so that WordCamp US can be a great experience for us all.

It takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it! We want the WordPress community to keep growing, and making it possible for more people to attend WordCamp US by keeping tickets affordable is one fantastic way to make that happen.

Tickets are still available if you haven’t gotten yours. And if you are interested in learning how to give back to the community (no matter what way you’re curious about), then be sure to check out Contributor Day!

WordPress is one of those tools that you can learn from the ground up at home (or anywhere you have a computer and some internet). No matter where you are, no matter your current level of technological savvy, WordPress resources are widely available across the internet so that you can level up your skills at your own pace.

With all this ready-to-use training available, you may ask yourself why you should attend a WordCamp.

WordCamps, which are always filled with fabulous content, give you a chance to meet an extensive community of passionate WordPress enthusiasts. Meeting people from your own area who do exactly what you do – whether that’s development, design, or running a full-service agency – can really connect you to what makes WordPress thrive. The community behind WordPress is what makes it so different from other CMS options out there and WordCamp US brings WordPressers from all over North America together to learn, connect, and celebrate.

Are you excited about WordCamp now? Guess what. I bet you have a friend who would be excited, too. We have at least one person on our own organizing team who feels like they were introduced to WordPress for the first time through a WordCamp. WordCamps, and the WordPress community as a whole, are welcoming and inclusive; we take all kinds here and teach them all about WordPress. 🙂

So what do you say? Bring a friend, Make a friend!

Photo Credit